Spec me my first electric guitar!

Fenny · 11 Jul 2007 at 21:27

Hey.

As title says, ive been playing on my friends spare guitar for a couple of sessions and I think im ready to get my own so I can practice more.

I have been told that a standard cheap Fender replica of the sort would be fine. Currently Ive been practising on a Fender Stratocaster, so something thats similar in shape and size would be good.

I literally have zero experience with makes / types and technicallities of it all.

I have abour £300-400 that I think I can put away for the guitar. Im a little flexible if its worth it.

My friend said that I could just get sepeate amplifer from the speaker, and I could just put it in the line in on my computer, and listen through a high quality pair of headphones that I allready had.

Appreciate all help guys.. any more info on my budget and needs il glady give.

Cheers

Fenny

Raymond Lin · 11 Jul 2007 at 22:44

Average Guitar + Good amp > Good Guitar + Crap Amp.

OzZie · 11 Jul 2007 at 23:02

You don't really want to go the digital route when starting.

Buy something like a 112 and have it setup with a nice low action and .09 gauge strings so its easy to play. Then get something like a AD30 modelling amp and you should be all set for a range of tones.

William · 11 Jul 2007 at 23:06

You could probably find a mexican strat for that.

Sweetloaf · 11 Jul 2007 at 23:11

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/yamaha-pacifica112j/1269

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/vc15-110/67333

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/71392

Job done, nice beginners guitar, valve amp and effects to have a muck around with :cool:

m3csl2004 · 12 Jul 2007 at 00:26

Sweetloaf said:
http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/yamaha-pacifica112j/1269

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/vc15-110/67333

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/71392

Job done, nice beginners guitar, valve amp and effects to have a muck around with

behringer v amp x would be a better choice in my opinion

Fenny · 12 Jul 2007 at 01:15

Thanks for your input guys

Is it that important to be spending that much on amp when Im not really going to be playing through the speaker rather some headphones?

Also, I am slightly worried in buying a sub 100 quid guitar. What kind of quality will I be buying for that price? I would like just a basic hard wearing guitar that I can use untill I decide whether I want to get a more expensive one or such.

Zefan · 12 Jul 2007 at 01:17

Get the pacifica and a decent amp + effects.

Headphones don't do proper guitar playing justice.

The pacifica is a GREAT guitar, I wish I got one instead of my beginner Ibanez.

Holliday · 12 Jul 2007 at 01:29

Would love to give you an opinion on the Pacifica 112 but I ordered mine 11 days ago and is yet to be dispatched, left handed stock is hard to come by apparently!

As shown in the sticky; http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar

Give that a whirl for any potential guitar you're thinking of.

Azagoth · 12 Jul 2007 at 02:00

What style of music do you play? I found that that helped me loads in choosing my first guitar, and no Sweetloaf it wasn't a pointy BC Rich, it was an old Hohner if I remember correctly.

SexyGreyFox · 12 Jul 2007 at 07:24

Yamaha Pacifica 112 is a first good choice.

Azagoth, I'm gigging at the Commercial on Aug 11th if you fancy walking down the bank.
I'll even get you a pint in.

lemonkettaz · 12 Jul 2007 at 12:29

Another vote for Pacifica....

A mexican Fender too.. but that is a bit more money. But they are truly awesome

Azagoth · 12 Jul 2007 at 12:52

dmpoole said:
Yamaha Pacifica 112 is a first good choice.

Azagoth, I'm gigging at the Commercial on Aug 11th if you fancy walking down the bank.
I'll even get you a pint in.

May just do that! It's just down the road from me, a short walk along Corporation St. and I'm there.

Sweetloaf · 12 Jul 2007 at 13:23

Azagoth said:
and no Sweetloaf it wasn't a pointy BC Rich, it was an old Hohner if I remember correctly.

urghhhhh..pointy

To the OP, if you don't want to splash out on the Laney amp, an Orange Crush 30R is around £120 it sounded great until I got a valve amp, now there's no way I could go back

The Crush has a headphone socket and a line out as well, nice little amp

In fact a cheap Fender and a Crush 15r would do.

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/options.php?id=8187&gclid=CLaP6ZiBoo0CFSBMGgodOEZf5g

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-stratocaster/1006

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/71392

Fenny · 12 Jul 2007 at 13:37

Thanks for your help sweetloaf and co.

I think il go with the valve amp and cheap guitar route. I guess its wiser since I can reuse the amp if I decide to take it further.

Anyways, Il keep you poseted on my purchases if your interested.

Fenny

Toryglen-boy · 12 Jul 2007 at 13:50

Used Ibanez RG560 or RG550 etc, if its played it in, it will rawk ...

failing that, a spanky new Yamaha Pacifica ...

or a Jackson DK2 .... if you can change the pups in them, as they suck

Sweetloaf · 12 Jul 2007 at 15:46

Fenny said:
I think il go with the valve amp and cheap guitar route. I guess its wiser since I can reuse the amp if I decide to take it further.

Wise move IMO, I would get a guitar that is as flexible as possible soundwise eg Strat, Pacific or Yamaha, running them through that amp you are bound to get a decent sound with at least a couple of settings.

I would also advise going and trying as many guitars as possible until you find one you like, ignore all the people (incuding me

) who say get guitar x or y, just get one you are comfortable with that sounds/feels right to you.

A week or so ago I was dead set on owning a real Gibson and was going to splash out £1300 or so on a Les Paul (Big Zep fan

), I then decided that since I had the cash to by any it would be silly to have a pre concieved idea of which guitar to buy so I decided to also look at strats, the idea grew on me until I made this thread, even then I thought I knew which Strat I wanted until I played them all and found the one that suited my hands and ears. Incidentally I also tried a few Gibsons in the £1300-£1800 bracket and they really weren't for me, how anyone plays a Les Paul sitting down for any length of time is beyond me. I also tried an Epiphone G400 custom, same model as the one I have and even that felt awkward compared to the one I actually own so there really is variety even between the same style guitar from a single manufacturer.

Hope that helps.

Above all, enjoy yourself :cool:

Fenny · 12 Jul 2007 at 17:17

The only guitar that I have used was a Fender Strat, so in all honesty I have no idea how to guage whether a guitar suits me. heh

Im going to a local guitar shop to browse with the friend I was talking about. Hopefully he can help me a little bit finding something. But I think a the Pacifica 112 is the way forward seeing the reviews. Only if I see anything cheaper than on the net will I consider it.

I assume like electronics etc, its cheaper online?

So what kind of things should I be looking for when Im handling it?

Sweetloaf · 12 Jul 2007 at 17:38

Fenny said:
The only guitar that I have used was a Fender Strat, so in all honesty I have no idea how to guage whether a guitar suits me. heh

There are no rules, if you like it and it feels good to hold/play it suits you

Fenny said:
I assume like electronics etc, its cheaper online?

I'd actually buy from a shop if at all possible, as I said I tried many strats with identical stats on paper, one just stood out to me for some reason. As far as price goes my local shop price matched the net, I took in printouts from various places on the net, I got my Strat for £645 same thing was roughly £630 + delivery on the net and I get the chance to drive it back if need be rather than fork out £20 on postage. I'd have paid more for that benefit alone but obviously didn't haggle him up

Just as well I did.

Fenny said:
So what kind of things should I be looking for when Im handling it?

How does the neck feel in your hand, is it too thick?, too thin? Is the action (distance between the strings and frets) playable to you? Does it feel solid and well put together, is the finish or trim cheap and tatty looking? And does it sound good when plugged in?